Stories from the field

Training: After a long day at the office, the last session is held at a park.

Hi there!

My name is Boris Mordkovich and I’m one of the 28 Kiva Fellows [in training] in the KF7 class. In just a few short days, I’ll be finishing up the training, getting my last-minute supplies and headed to the cold, cold winter climate of Tajikistan.

As we come to a close of our 3rd day of training, there is finally a small window of opportunity to take a breath and reflect on this week thus far. And let me tell you – there aren’t a lot of opportunities like this during the week!

The training is designed to prepare a new group of fellows for field work at their respective Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs) all over the world. But this preparation is unlike any other – it’s training on steroids.

Kiva has a pretty difficult task of “training” 28 people for something like a Kiva fellowship – as everybody’s experience will be unique in many ways. The needs of the organizations we will all be working for will vary. The countries and cultures that we’ll all be visiting are different. And our skill sets also range tremendously which impacts the type of contributions we can do.

During the week, we all certainly get a chance to learn the inner workings of Kiva, its business model and how it interacts with its partners, lenders and borrowers. The training program provides a ton of information on all things Kiva. However, since we only have a week, each day winds up to be very intense. And then, the deeper you dig, the more you understand how complex and and unique Kiva’s platform is and the more questions you wind up having.

If there is one major thread that goes through every presentation and every session, its the need to be flexible and fluid. There is a lot of trust and responsibilities placed in the fellows – we are given a lot of freedom in how we are expected to do things. And that’s what, I think, will make this both very rewarding and challenging.

Micro-Finance sector and Kiva are still relatively new, so there are a lot of unknowns ahead – but as Leonardo da Vinci once said, “I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.”

Add Your Comments

Kiva's Comment Policy

To encourage conversation and build community on Kiva's blogs, we've made commenting accessible and viewable by anyone visiting Kiva. Given this high visibility, we ask that you abide by the following guidelines when posting a comment:

Comments should be relevant to the content of specific blog posts and are not to be used for self-promotion or to advertise or solicit.

Please refrain from using profanity or language that may be seen as degrading or disrespectful.

Commenters are expected to accurately and honestly represent themselves. False identities will not be tolerated.

Kiva reserves the right to remove comments in violation of this policy. See Kiva's Terms of Use Agreement for more information on user-generated content.

Search Fellows Updates

About Kiva Fellows Program

Kiva Fellows are volunteers who maximize Kiva's impact around the world. By working closely with our Field Partners in over 50 countries, they make sure loan dollars go where they're needed most -- while having a few adventures along the way. Learn more >>